Tag Archives: Ballard Crime

In a city as beautiful as Seattle, it’s easy to forget some ugly truths that linger beneath the surface.

A local group calling themselves “Safe Seattle” is having a meeting tonight, bringing to the forefront the growing public safety issues facing the city and calling the city’s inhabitants to action.

This meeting was organized by Cindy Pierce, a resident of Magnolia, to shine a light on and address the growing problem of drug dealing and use, theft, illegal encampments and other public safety problems that are increasingly impacting residents and business owners in various areas of the city such as Ballard, Queen Anne and Magnolia, to name a few. The goal of the meeting is to bring together residents of the community to talk about and demand action in regards to these issues, which, some say are reaching crisis level.

The meeting is expected to earn a potentially big turnout, due in large part to the response it’s had on social media. The meeting will include representatives from city hall and people from different neighborhoods throughout the city speaking on the issue.

The meeting will be held tonight, January 6th, from 6:30-8:30 PM at United Church of Christ in Magnolia 3555 W McGraw St.

Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the threatening of a Metro driver with a gun early Saturday morning near the Holman Road QFC, according to The Seattle Times.

Police set up a containment area shortly after the incident in the neighborhood around NW 97th Street and 7th Avenue Northwest, and located one female juvenile suspect, another suspect who matched the description of the person who initially had the gun, and later a police dog located a third suspect hiding under a parked car. The suspect found under the car was armed with a knife and a gun was found nearby. Police said they arrested the two “primary” suspects, but didn’t specify which two they were.

Between 2009 and 2011 the number of assaults on Metro bus drivers decreased each year, from 149 in 2009 to 86 in 2010 and 84 in 2011. The number climbed back up to 107 in 2012, and numbers for 2013 and for the first part of 2014 are not yet available. Metro says their overall goal is to bring the number of assaults on drivers down to 10 per year.

Early Sunday morning, a man was injured walking with a friend in Ballard, after the two had walked past a parking pay station where an explosive device had reportedly gone off. According to Kiro 7‘s report of the incident, the police said the 911 center received a call half past midnight from the emergency room at Swedish Medical Hospital in Ballard, of a report from a nurse that a man had come in, claiming to be injured in an explosion.

Photo Courtesy of Kirotv.com

The man had reported to the police that he and his friend had walked past NW 54th and 32nd ave NW when they heard the explosion occur, and the man noticed that he had been hit by something, and his arm was bleeding. The man was treated at Swedish, and did not have life threatening injuries. CSI and the Seattle Police Department’s Arson unit surveyed the scene and their findings indicated that the cause was probably an act of vandalism. For the full scoop, visit Kiro 7 News.

BALLARD IN A NUTSHELL

Ballard is a Seattle neighborhood located northwest of downtown. Ballard is known for its nordic and maritime roots and is home to the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks. Today the area is a popular living location with hip restaurants and a thriving condominium community.